interviews

John Wiswell’s Wearing the Lion is a retelling of Greek mythology that is sharply contemporary yet roils with the magic of ancient gods.

The Last Time We Spoke is a book that writer, journalist, and author Jesse Mechanic had been avoiding for years. It is, after all, a graphic memoir detailing the aftermath of his mother’s death from cancer when he was fourteen.

When I first met Cherry Lou Sy in Brooklyn through a mutual friend, I was excited because I could count on a single hand the number of times I’ve met someone else of Filipino-Chinese, or Tsinoy, descent. That is, to have a parent who is ethnically Chinese, but born and raised in the Philippines, part of one of the largest overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia.

Poet and author of Life of the Party Olivia Gatwood has released her long-awaited debut novel, Whoever You Are, Honey. Set in the liminal space of Santa Cruz, California (a town grasping on to tradition as modernity threatens to destroy its past), we meet Mitty, a reclusively introspective protagonist whose rejection of the world reveals a stormy interior contrasting with her unassuming exterior.

Before we tell a story to another, we often repeat it to ourselves. We arrange each polished detail like a game of dominoes—See what I’ve seen—until, laid flat, our listening party might observe the bigger picture.

Richard Mirabella’s debut novel, Brother & Sister Enter the Forest, is the tale of Willa and Justin’s attempt to mend their sibling relationship as they revisit their childhood trauma and grief.

Lilly Dancyger’s searing and poignant essay collection, First Love: Essays on Friendship (The Dial Press, 2024), explores female companionship, care, and survival. Beginning with her close childhood bond with her cousin, Sabina, Dancyger understood the love of friendship as a revelation.

The night I saw KB Brookins read an excerpt from their debut memoir Pretty at a small brewery in Kansas City, I knew I had to get my hands on the book. A hybrid memoir of transmasculinity, Blackness, belonging and unbelonging in Texas, reckoning with sexual violence and adoptee identity, cultural criticism, and joy, Pretty is an essential addition to the contemporary trans memoir canon.

Josh Denslow isn’t just a writer. He’s a musician, a screenwriter, and a father. A lot of us hold multiple roles in our lives, of course, and the characters in Denslow’s novel, Super Normal, do too.

Suzan Palumbo’s Skin Thief is a collection that is both luscious and terrifying, full of shapeshifting women, Trinidadian ghosts, and gothic horror. Skin becomes a startling and often gruesome metaphor for identity as queer women transform into deer, snakes, and douens. They are made monstrous, but they glory in that monstrosity.

I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times (Soft Skull Press, 2023) by Dr. Taylor Byas is the debut full-length poetry collection inspired and shaped by the 1978 classic The Wiz.

Sequoia Nagamatsu’s debut novel, How High We Go in the Dark, is everything I love about speculative fiction. It’s sweeping in scope, yet profoundly personal in its concerns; its explorations cast light on intimate aspects of the human condition even as it casts shadows on the wall that thrill us, frighten us, make us question what we know.

A debut collection of short stories from a Pakistani writer who is writing in English is a rare thing. And to see the city of Karachi, for instance, through the eyes of a writer who weighs each sentence with deliberation and kindness is a revelation.

Millennials get a bad rep—lazy, entitled, addicted to the internet (and themselves). They also came of age and into adulthood during the great recession and have been identified as the first generation to earn less than their parents.

Alexander Dumas once wrote that all human wisdom could be summed up in two words, “wait and hope.” In his new book, Infinitely Full of Hope: Fatherhood and the Future in an Age of Crisis and Disaster, British philosopher Tom Whyman spends time dissecting the latter.

Florida sings. From Zora Neale Hurston and the Highwaymen, to Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, to debut Black women fiction writers Dawnie Walton, Deesha Philyaw, and Dantiel W. Moniz, I continue to listen.

As one of the most formally innovative writers today, Sarah Minor is pushing past page-bound boundaries. Her essay collection, Bright Archive (Rescue Press, October 2020), investigates place and space, asking readers to flip the book upside-down while exploring a commune, travel down a textual river to make meaning through mapping, and nest inside tens of parentheticals to cocoon themselves in the concept of home.

At the 2019 Lambda Litfest in L.A., I listened to Sam Cohen read from “Sarahland,” the titular story of her linked collection from Grand Central Publishing, an imprint of Hachette Book Group (published March 2021). At one point, the writer friend sitting next to me leaned in, sighed, and whispered, “So good.”

Hope abounds in Adam Clay’s poems, but it arrives like sandpaper, rubbing the soul down to its truest form.

Indian literature is extremely diverse, spreading over multiple vernaculars and dialects, each with vibrant histories. Indian writing in English also represents an old body of work that long precedes the country’s independence from British colonial rule in 1947.

A Country for Dying by Abdellah Taïa (Seven Stories Press) and Straight from the Horse's Mouth by Meryem Alaoui (Other Press) seem similar at first glance, at least topically; they’re both accounts of Moroccan sex workers interested in ideas like survival, self-sufficiency, connection, isolation, and loss.

Long before I met her, I read Alysia Sawchyn’s essays in Catapult, Brevity, Diagram, and elsewhere. I admired her ability to write with such confidence, sharing parts of herself that other essayists often shied away from or tiptoed around.

The Clearing, Allison Adair’s debut poetry collection and winner of Milkweed Editions 2020 Max Rivto Poetry Prize, is a fiery, magnificent, urgent debut that reminds us of poetry’s ability to clarify perception, create awareness, and make space for us to connect with our authentic selves as we grapple with life’s chaos.

In the opening sentence of her debut novel, Kept Animals, Kate Milliken doesn’t meander through florid establishing shots: she lights a wildfire.

A tale as old as time: I first came across Claire Hopple’s fiction in a slush pile. I remember my foot tapping on the carpet in my old apartment as I read her story, “Talisman,” about a woman following another woman.

Sue William Silverman’s latest book, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences, isn’t as grim as the title makes it seem. In fact, it’s sarcastic throughout and downright funny in many places.

Over the last few years, I’ve encountered Timothy J. Hillegonds’ writing in such publications as Brevity, RHINO, and Baltimore Review, and I’ve always been impressed by his ability to tell personal stories with rich detail and a deep emotional impact.

June Sylvester Saraceno grew up in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, among storytelling aunties and preachers and all the conflicts that riddled the rural South.

I first met Katie M. Flynn at the 2018 AWP conference in Tampa, when she was the Fiction Editor for Split Lip Magazine (she has since left the magazine to focus on her writing) and I was the newly enlisted Reviews/Interviews Editor.

Frequent readers of Split Lip Magazine are likely already fans of Megan Giddings, whose 2018 flash fiction contribution, “A Husband Should Be Eaten and Not Heard,” earned the distinction of being included in the 2018 Best of the Net anthology.

At AWP ‘19 in Portland, I went to a reading at a Western-themed bar to see a friend read poetry. The lineup was long, as anyone who’s been to AWP offsites can attest.

Mary South’s writing has an attention to language, a dark, off-kilter humor, and an emotional urgency that makes her stories a great pleasure to read. Her debut collection of short fiction, You Will Never Be Forgotten, published this month by FSG Originals, centers on characters for whom technology is both an encumbrance and a means of potential fulfillment or escape.

The In-Betweens explores the spaces Davon has occupied throughout his life as the child of a Black mother and White father, as a stepson and son, as a person with roots in Alabama and New Jersey, as a Black man in a world where “you fit the description” is offered as a sufficient enough reason to pull a driver over.

Olivia Gatwood is a poet whom you’ve likely seen on the internet. Her spoken word videos, including “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” and “Ode to My Bitch Face,” have accumulated over 3 million views. As a queer, emerging poet myself, I’ve appreciated the issues she’s explored in her work.

On her new Sturgill Simpson-produced LP, Deluxe Hotel Room, Lucette explores all types of love and the relationships that come with it. I recently spoke with the Canadian-born musician about her hometown of Edmonton, writing serious songs, and how making the new album gave her the courage to open up to others.

In 2018 at AWP in Tampa, Florida, I asked Teague von Bohlen why people from the Midwest are so tall and he laughed—surprised by my height, I think. I’m short. So short my parents used to joke that something must’ve been in the water in our Boston suburb. Then Teague said, “I think it’s all the corn” and mentioned a book he was working on about the Midwest, one that would pair flash fiction with photographs. I knew immediately I wanted to read it.

The Way Down Wanderers have the trait I love most about my fellow Midwesterners: they refuse to be categorized. Give their sophomore album illusions one listen and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about. I recently chatted with one of the band’s two main songwriters, Collin Krause, about their new LP, the great Midwest, and what it means to take risks in your music.

The Tenderness Project is full of writing, music, images with different textures, different rhythms, from different kinds of people, all in the name of tenderness. It feels something like an altar. Though a lot of folks in creative communities have one of Ross Gay’s collections on their shelves or have heard Shayla Lawson belt out Frank Ocean songs between her poems, not many are aware of the collaborative curatorial work they’re doing online. The near-obscurity of The Tenderness Project has created an intimacy amongst the contributors that we hope to invite you into here. There’s room. More than enough, because “we are each other.”

In a 2016 interview with The Guardian, author Mary Gaitskill said “Literature is not a realm for politeness.” That statement holds true for all artistic mediums. New Orleans-based singer-songwriter Carsie Blanton is no exception. An artist with six albums under her belt, all released with a pay-what-you-want, doesn’t sustain a career for fifteen years by being polite. She has made the albums she’s wanted to make, the way she wants to make them, with no interference from the powers that be. I recently chatted with Carsie about everything under the sun including her new album Buck Up, creating a sexy card game from scratch, and how she manages to balance so many projects at once.

James Charlesworth and I were first introduced by my husband who repeatedly mentioned a writer friend I should meet. I was skeptical. You’ve probably had a similar experience.

I am in awe of the impact Ivelisse Rodriguez’s short-story collection Love War Stories had on me as a reader. Ivelisse got me laughing and crying and spitting mad. She also had me wanting to study her text for clues, connections, and themes like it was a university seminar.

In 2012, before I knew I wanted to pursue writing seriously, I came across Kathy Fish’s work online and quickly purchased her flash fiction collection Wild Life. The book was full of a kind of writing I had never read—quietly powerful, intuitive, and so beautifully brief.

Frances Cone is the indie-pop outfit helmed by Christina Cone and Andrew Doherty. With the release of Late Riser, this Nashville-based band is set to make their mark on the world. I recently chatted with Christina about everything under the sun, including what she looks for in a song, the differences between live performances and studio recordings, and the pressure of being pushed into something you’re simply not ready for yet.

I was introduced to Claire Schwartz in February through a mutual friend in Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a national organization committed to ending U.S. support of Israeli apartheid. What started as an email introduction and the possibility of an intimate reading together at our mutual friend’s home evolved into a JVP-sponsored poetry benefit for the imprisoned Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour’s legal fund.

“No one has a choice. The whole idea of choice, it’s just a Western myth designed to make people uncertain, prevent anyone from taking responsibility. It makes people not know who they are. But I know who I am.”

Richmond, VA’s Mekong Xpress are a prime example of what I consider the “RVA Sound.” If you’ve been paying attention to the many, many great acts coming out of that corner of our world, you’ll know exactly what I mean upon first listen of their debut LP Common Knowledge. And if you don’t, you’re in for a treat. I recently sat down with bassist/guitarist/singer/all-around-great-guy Todd Herrington to discuss his band’s new album, how his hometown continues to inspire him, and the wonderful world of stop motion animation.

Kristin Garth and Elisabeth Horan are authors of the collaborative poetry chapbook Pensacola Girls, written in response to the death of Dericka Lindsay, a nine-year-old who died after an adult cousin, who weighed 325 pounds, sat on her as a form of punishment. When the family realized that Dericka was unconscious, they called 911.

In his new novel Ivy Vs. Dogg: With a Cast of Thousands!, Brian Leung invites readers into the town of Mudlick, where a judgmental committee cannot seem to keep out of anyone’s business, and where two teenagers are about to change the status quo.

Tatiana Ryckman is the author of the novella, I Don't Think of You (Until I Do) (Future Tense Books), and two chapbooks of prose. She is the Editor of Awst Press and has been a writer in residence at Yaddo, Arthub, and 100W. Her work has appeared in Tin House, Lithub, Paper Darts, Barrelhouse, Split Lip, and other publications.

Will Marsh, recording under the name Gold Connections, has firmly planted his foot in the world of indie music with the release of his fantastic debut album Popular Fiction, out now via Egghunt Records. I recently had the opportunity to chat with Will about how the songs changed over the course of nearly a decade, the Charlottesville music scene, and the bottomless well of inspiration that is Bob Dylan.

Chloe N. Clark is a writer, co-editor-in chief at literary magazine Cotton Xenomorph, and a professor. Clark teaches college composition with a focus on rhetorical arguments. She lectures on Monster Theory, Genre, Speculative Writing, and Fan Studies.

Tabitha Blankenbiller is the kind of writer who can cook up an essay that’s equal parts delicious self-reflection and nutritious nourishment for understanding broader life experiences. Her work has been published in a variety of venues, including The Rumpus, Alternating Current, Barrelhouse, Luna Luna Magazine, Catapult, and here in Split Lip Magazine.

When I got to know Lee Conell, I was in my third year of failing to finish Infinite Jest. Over beers and pizza, we talked about the cult of DFW, the temptation to love the idea of loving a book more than the book itself. In her own writing, Lee’s enthusiasm for language, laughter, and moments of grace and beauty comes through with refreshing authenticity.

Already praised by NPR and GoldfFlakePaint, Grace Vonderkuhn is set to release her debut LP Reveries this month via Egghunt Records. Get to know one of 2018’s most promising young artists in our exclusive interview below.